By choosing to post the reply below you agree to the rules you agreed to when joining Sailnet.
Click Here to view those rules.

Message:

Trackback:

Send Trackbacks to (Separate multiple URLs with spaces) :

Post Icons

You may choose an icon for your message from the following list:

No icon

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the SailNet Community forums, you must first register. Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.Please note: After entering 3 characters a list of Usernames already in use will appear and the list will disappear once a valid Username is entered.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Click here to view the posting rules you are bound to when clicking the'Submit Reply' button below

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Click here to view the posting rules you are bound to when clicking the'Submit Reply' button below

Topic Review (Newest First)

04-07-2013 03:13 PM

kjones744

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

Thanks for the great tips. I love the Pledge tip as PVA isn't always near.

The Gelcoat by Seahawk uses MEKp for a hardener that is mixed with the gelcoat just before application and wax comes on the side. The preval sprayers are nice for small jobs and keep your nice guns free from that mess. Not an easy job to gelcoat but worth it.

On the web it says it is waxed but I could not find the word wax on the can any place.
It took over 24 maybe 48 hours to dry in my cool basement.

04-05-2013 02:06 PM

overbored

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

the purple stuff was PVA it is used to keep the air off of the surface so the surface will harden. Aquanet hair spray will also work. it is just PVA with a scent. Pledge spray wax also works just harder to clean off. Gelcoat is made to remain tacky on the surface so when it is sprayed into a mold the next layer of Glass/resin will stick to it, so when not used in a mold you need to keep the air off so it will cure

04-05-2013 01:26 PM

dsullyec1

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

I forgot to mention that our neighbor did use something as a hardener, but I'm not sure what it is. He sprayed it on...purple stuff. Don't know the name of it. I'll ask when he comes this weekend.

04-05-2013 11:03 AM

eherlihy

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

In my limited experience with Gelcoat I have learned a couple of things;

it DOES NOT change color or hue as it dries. I am sure that you have seen paint change hue (slightly) as it dries.

it does not dry (cure) without hardener

with the two above points in mind, I have used a container of clear plastic to take my time and combine gelcoat & tint to try to match color as well as my eye can see. I add hardener just before I apply.

it smells AWFUL

it likes to adhere to a "flat" surface. Thus, it is not good for filling cracks, and you need to feather the surface to get gelcoat to stick. The recommended practice is to open hairline cracks with a screwdriver or can opener in order to provide a wider surface for the gel to stick to.

it has a reputation for cracking if applied too thickly. However, I have mixed it with Cabosil/microfibers to fill and fair some deep voids, and it seems to be working fine.

YMMV

04-05-2013 10:43 AM

dsullyec1

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

He did an area of approx. 18" tall by 15' wide and on both sides of the boat...5 ports per side, so take that space out of the equation, and he used about 10 cans of preval aerosal. Cans were about $6.00 apiece.

04-04-2013 11:49 PM

jimgo

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

Dsully, how many cans of spray did he use, and over what size area?

04-04-2013 11:39 PM

davidpm

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhr1956

Davidpm...why was it hard to sand? Hardness or sticky or what?

hard

At first I didn't use water.
Water makes it possible but it is still very hard stuff.

04-04-2013 11:38 PM

davidpm

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsullyec1

Hi David,
Our neighbor was having some men work on his gel coat, but they only showed up one time to do part of the job, and then they never returned. He took it into his own hands and found a much easier and cheaper way to do it. This is in case you have a big job to do later on. He used a sprayer called "Preval" and bought the gel coat in the cans with mixer, hardener, tinting (if required) and premixed it all together before attaching it to the bottom of the Preval sprayer (nothing more than a type of aerosal can). You spray it on evenly, several coats...you'll need to follow the directions on the gel coat. You can look this up online, under "Preval" and they have videos to show you how to do it. Our neighbor's boat is looking fine...he sanded part of it with very fine sand paper and it came out beautifully. I'd send pics, but it's all taped up. It's not for everyone, but thought I'd mention it since it turned out so well on his boat, and it cost him 1/8th the price that the guys were going to charge him. Of course, he had to do the work. You might be interested in checking this out online.

Did he do the whole boat or just a section?
How big?

04-04-2013 03:10 PM

tommays

Re: Worst Gel-Coat Job ever

Well

If you think gelcoat is a bitch to wetsand which it is, watch fully cured Awlgrip destroy even the best 400 grit wet sandpaper

When I had to wetsand a 6" wide X 65' long section of Seafevers Tan Awlgrip to prepare it for the green Awlgrip strip I went through several packages

This thread has more than 10 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.